Everyone nodded in agreement, including Ike, who had activated all her blue-tier equipment. A faint glow enveloped her body, radiating an elegant and powerful blue light.
"A powerful artifact, Miss," said Aleron, his gaze fixed on the golden sword in Ike's hand.
Ike smiled shyly, lowering her head slightly. "Haha… no, Sir. This sword isn't an artifact," she replied, her voice filled with humility, though a hint of pride slipped through.
When she was assigned to guide Aleron and his group, her superior had given her this golden sword. She cherished it greatly—not only did it possess high attributes, but it also significantly enhanced her attacks.
Unbeknownst to Ike, the sword in her hand was a duplicate of Lein's golden sword. This sword would become her lifesaver when the time came.
Aleron regarded Ike for a moment before resuming his walk. He said nothing more, but his eyes conveyed something unspoken. Deep down, he knew Ike wasn't yet strong enough to grasp the secrets of the sword.
They soon pressed forward, trudging through the dusty desert. The wind carried fine particles, making the distant horizon appear hazy. Their footprints marked a winding path through the sand.
Before long, they encountered a group of sand monsters. Over ten sandworms emerged from behind the dunes, their bodies towering up to three meters high, their mouths lined with sharp, vibrating teeth that seemed menacing.
- Attributes: STR 9, AGI 4, RES 5, INT 1
- Skill: (Serrated Drain)
Aleron, standing at the front, slowly raised his hand. A white feather appeared out of nowhere, hovering in the air as if awaiting a command. With an elegant motion, Aleron twirled the feather, pointing its tip at one of the sandworms. Instantly, the feather shot forward, piercing the monster's body with deadly precision.
The sandworm's body trembled momentarily before collapsing, a cloud of dust rising around it. Ike glanced at the team panel that appeared before her.
[Your team has defeated a sandworm, earning 1 EXP.]
"So powerful," Ike murmured in awe, her eyes fixed on the feather that had now returned to Aleron's side, floating silently. She knew her own Tier-2 strength was enough to easily destroy such monsters, but witnessing Aleron harness natural energy to kill with such effortless grace left her impressed.
Suddenly, one of the elders pointed at the recently slain monster. "Look, something dropped," he said, hurrying to the spot.
He bent down, picking up a shimmering energy crystal in his hand. Upon examining the sandworm's body more closely, he also discovered several other items, including hide, teeth, and a short iron sword.
"Look at this!" the elder exclaimed, showing his findings to the others, his face reflecting surprise.
"Low-level monsters like these dropping such items?" Elder Wen asked, his voice tinged with disbelief. He stared at the items in his hands—energy crystals, monster hide, and teeth—as if unable to believe what he was seeing.
"If I'm not mistaken, the Sky Towers in other realms aren't this generous," he added, his gaze shifting to Aleron, who stood calmly.
"You're correct," Aleron replied casually, shrugging slightly. His face showed little emotion, but his gaze briefly swept across the sandy landscape around them, as if recalling old experiences. "The items dropped by monsters on this floor heavily depend on the Guardian of Nature's owner, Lord Lein," he explained confidently.
Ike, standing not far from Aleron, listened attentively. For her, this explanation was an intriguing new piece of knowledge. She looked at Aleron with a hint of admiration. Though the young man before her lacked the captivating aura of Lein, his strength still left her deeply impressed.
"Alright, let's move on," Aleron finally said. His voice was calm as usual, but there was firmness in his command. He had no intention of lingering here. His journey to this floor was merely to assess whether there was any worthwhile potential collaboration with the Divine Sky Realm.
Collaboration between realms was common in the cosmos. No realm could survive alone amidst the vast flows of energy and interconnected powers. Aleron knew this well, but he also understood that choosing the right partner was the key to success.
In a vast location with a white stone platform, Lein stood calmly, gazing at the massive portal before him. Security personnel and construction workers around him stood silently in orderly rows, awaiting his command.
This place was an inter-realm teleportation area, built on an impressive scale—a ten-kilometer-long square surrounded by towering black walls. These walls were equipped with defensive weapons designed to counter threats from creatures that might emerge from the portal. Energy cannons and automatic arrows lined the walls, intimidating anyone with malicious intent.
After observing the portal for a while, Lein smiled in satisfaction. "After seven days of waiting, it's finally complete," he said softly, his voice filled with relief and pride.
The portal, standing fifty meters tall, loomed majestically before him, with a circular base fifty meters in diameter beneath it. Five tall pillars surrounded the circle at the portal's center. A soft glow flowed from the pillars, merging into the portal, which still appeared as a shimmering shadow in the air.
Constructing this portal was no easy feat. It had taken a full seven days and consumed an enormous amount of precious materials. If not for the epic chest he possessed, Lein would not have been able to complete the portal anytime soon.
Though the portal before him was now physically complete, it still required one final step to become fully functional. Lein stared at it intently.
(Multi-Space Portal) An ancient artifact that opens pathways across dimensions, born of secret formation arts. Only those with sufficient soul power can control it, making it a key to infinite destinies.
- Maximum distance: 10 spaces (1 space = 1,000 trillion km)
- Power: 0 (1% / 1,000 power essence)
- Realm limit: 5 points
[Requires (Portal Core Amulet) for activation.]
Seeing the system warning on the portal's status panel, Lein smiled faintly, as if his suspicions had been confirmed. This portal had been obtained from Elder Wen Lu, Aleron's subordinate, during the inter-race war event.